RIYADH – Saudi Arabia crown prince Mohammad Bin Salman has taken yetanother new initiative in the Kingdom.
Kingdom will offer an electronic visa for foreign visitors to attendsporting events and concerts from December, the kingdom said on Tuesday, asit tries to diversify its economy and open up its society.
At present, foreigners travelling to the Muslim country are largelyrestricted to resident workers and their dependents, business travellers,and Muslim pilgrims who are given special visas to travel to holy sites.
Plans to admit significant numbers of tourists from abroad have beendiscussed for years, only to be blocked by conservative opinion andbureaucracy.
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Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is seeking to develop new industries towean Saudi Arabia off dependency on oil exports. Economic reforms aim tolift total tourism spending in the country – by local citizens as well asforeigners – to $46.6 billion in 2020 from $27.9 billion in 2015.
